United States v. Vargas

74 F. Supp. 3d 601, 2015 WL 708540
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedFebruary 10, 2015
DocketNo. 05-CR-1327 (VM)
StatusPublished

This text of 74 F. Supp. 3d 601 (United States v. Vargas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Vargas, 74 F. Supp. 3d 601, 2015 WL 708540 (S.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

VICTOR MARRERO, District Judge.

On April 13, 2007, a jury found defendant Caonabo Vargas (“Vargas”) guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute narcotics, in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sections 846, and one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sections 1951. (See Dkt. Minute Entry for 4/13/2007; Dkt. No. 131.) On January 11, 2008, this Court sentenced Vargas to one hundred and fifty one (151) months imprisonment, followed by five (5) years supervised release. (Dkt. No. 131.)

Effective November 1, 2014, the United States Sentencing Commission (“Sentencing Commission”) adopted Amendment 782, which modified Section 2D1.1 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual (“Sentencing Guidelines”) to lower the Sentencing Guidelines’ sentencing range for certain categories of drug-related offenses (“Amendment 782”). The Sentencing Commission then adopted Amendment 788 (“Amendment 788”), also effective November 1, 2014, which authorized retroactive application of Amendment 782 to those sentenced before its effective date. Amendment 788 also specifies that no incarcerated defendant can be released pursuant to Amendment 788 prior to November 1, 2015. Furthermore, the “court shall not order a reduced term of imprisonment based on Amendment 782 unless the effective date of the court’s order is November 1, 2015, or later.” U.S.S.G. § lB1.10(e)(l).

The Probation Department made a submission to the Court and the parties, indi-[603]*603eating its assessment that Vargas is eligible for a sentencing reduction under Amendments 782 and 788.

Vargas filed motions (Dkt. Nos. 251, 255) for a sentence reduction pursuant to Amendments 782 and 788 on November 10, 2014, and December 30, 2014 asking that Vargas’s sentence be reduced from 151 to 121 months. On January 26, 2015, Vargas submitted an additional letter including exhibits to demonstrate his extensive participation and completion of programs while in custody. (Dkt. No. 260.) The Government responded on February 3, 2015, acknowledging Vargas’s eligibility for a sentence reduction and expressing that the Government does not object to such a reduction within the amended Sentencing Guidelines range of 121-151 months. (Dkt. No. 259.)

STANDARD

Under Section 3582(c)(2) of Title 18 (“Section 3582(c)(2)”), United States Code, when a defendant has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment based on a sentencing range that is subsequently lowered by the Sentencing Commission, the Court may act upon motion of the defendant or the Director of the Bureaus of Prisons, or upon its own motion, to reduce the defendant’s term of imprisonment. A court may grant a sentence reduction only after considering the factors set forth in Section 3553(a) of Title 18 (“Section 3553(a)”) and upon a finding that such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission. See id.

Here, when considering a sentence reduction under the two-step inquiry laid out in Dillon v. United States, the Court must first decide whether Vargas is eligible for a sentence modification and then determine the “extent of the reduction authorized.” 560 U.S. 817, 827, 130 S.Ct. 2683, 177 L.Ed.2d 271 (2010). In reviewing eligibility, “the court shall determine the amended guideline range that would have been applicable to the defendant if the amendment(s) to the guidelines ... had been in effect at the time the defendant was sentenced.” U.S.S.G. § lB1.10(b). As a threshold matter, the amended Sentencing Guidelines range must be lower than the range that was applied at sentencing in order for a defendant to be eligible for a reduction.

With regard to the extent of the reduction authorized, Section lB1.10(b)(2)(A) of the Sentencing Guidelines provides that “the [Cjourt shall not reduce the defendant’s term of imprisonment under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) and this policy statement to a term that is less than the minimum of the amended guideline range.” U.S.S.G. § lB1.10(b)(2)(A). The only exception to this rule applies if the defendant was sentenced to a term of imprisonment below the Sentencing Guidelines range pursuant to a government motion “to reflect the defendant’s substantial assistance to authorities,” in which case the Court is authorized to grant a reduction comparably less than the amended Sentencing Guidelines range. Id. However, in the absence of a sentencing departure based on substantial assistance, the Court is not permitted to “re-impos[e] departures or variances imposed at the defendant’s original sentencing hearing.” U.S. v. Erskine, 717 F.3d 131, 137 (2d Cir.2013). Furthermore, “[i]n no event may the reduced term of imprisonment be less than the term of imprisonment the defendant has already served.” U.S.S.G. § lB1.10(b)(2)(C).

If the defendant is eligible for a sentencing reduction, the Court proceeds to the second step of the Dillon analysis, in which it must decide — in light of the Section 3553(a) factors — whether to grant a reduction. See Dillon, 560 U.S. at 827,130 S.Ct. 2683 (2010). Under Section 3553(a), [604]*604the Court must consider, among other things, “the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant” and the need to “protect the public from further crimes of the defendant.” 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

APPLICATION

The Court is persuaded that Vargas is eligible for a sentence reduction under Amendments 782 and 788. Vargas’s base offense level at the time of sentencing was grounded on Section 2D1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines, the section modified by Amendment 782. Vargas was not sentenced as a “career offender” under Section 4B1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines, nor was he subject to a mandatory minimum sentence in excess of the applicable Sentencing Guidelines range.1 Therefore, had Amendment 782 been in effect at the time of Vargas’s sentencing (see U.S.S.G. § lB1.10(b)), his total offense level would have been 32 instead of 34, and the Sentencing Guidelines range for his sentence would have been 121-151 months instead of 151-188 months.

As to the extent of the reduction authorized (Dillon, 560 U.S. at 827, 130 S.Ct. 2683), the Court sentenced Vargas to a term of incarceration of 151 months, which was within the Sentencing Guidelines range in effect at the time of sentencing, and greater than the applicable mandatory minimum sentence. The Court did not depart pursuant to a government motion regarding Vargas’s substantial assistance to the Government. Consequently, the Court is authorized to reduce Vargas’s term of imprisonment to as low as 121 months, the minimum of the amended Sentencing Guidelines range, but is not authorized to make any further reduction. See Erskine, 717 F.3d at 137; U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(b)(2)(A).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Dillon v. United States
560 U.S. 817 (Supreme Court, 2010)
United States v. Johnson
717 F.3d 131 (Second Circuit, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
74 F. Supp. 3d 601, 2015 WL 708540, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-vargas-nysd-2015.